As star Donovan Mitchell looks to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to new heights this season, he is once again joined by veteran James Harden in the hunt for a long-eluded championship win. While conversation has always surrounded Harden on the Cavs, Mitchell would reveal why people haven’t put his star teammate in the same conversations as LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Mitchell would emphasize that it’s the “championship conversation” that hasn’t put Harden in the same stratosphere as James and Durant. For Mitchell, he doesn’t believe that should be the be-all and end-all when it comes to player evaluation.

“I just truly believe the only reason why he’s not talked about in that room is because of the championship conversation,” Mitchell said Wednesday, via NBA Central. “I’ve always known it being around him, but when you’re his teammate, I think it brings it to a whole different level. I said that last playoffs. Seeing him in camp, seeing his influence on the group, seeing his conversations, seeing his passion behind winning, passion behind intention and trying to be the best of what he does, really puts in perspective how BS a lot of the narratives are and how you really don’t truly understand something until you see it on a daily basis.”

Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell continues about James Harden

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With Harden entering his 18th season in the NBA, he looks to help the Cavs get past the Eastern Conference Title series and reach the NBA Finals. Mitchell continued on his point about Harden, saying there have been many situational reasons why Harden hasn’t won a title, pointing out that then Houston Rockets teammate Chris Paul was injured against the Golden State Warriors in the 2018 Western Conference Finals.

“There’s so many things that play into it; I don’t think are just him, and I think you just see his level of hunger,” Mitchell said.

At any rate, Mitchell, Harden, and the rest of Cleveland look to further improve after finishing with a 52-30 record, putting them fourth in the East last season.